Imagine that you’re shopping for your first used car, and check out private-party listings on Craigslist. You check out an older but affordable Honda Accord, and the friendly family man selling the vehicle showed you a clean title. Seems legit, right? Who goes around selling ’97 Hondas on Craigslist for huge profits? It turns out that a lot of people do, and they’re called “curbstoners.”

You know, because they’re selling cars at the curb, playing the part of regular dudes or dudettes who want to get rid of their car before buying a new one.

The scenario above really happened to a new dad serving in the Air Force, who took the seller of his Accord at his word. It turns out that the car was really a 1994 Accord, the odometer had been rolled back at least 60,000 miles, and its title wasn’t clean. It had been stolen, then totaled out by the insurance company. The title he saw was forged.

The good news is that he was able to straighten out the title, and the car seems safe and in good working order.

Here are some warning signs that the car seller you’re dealing with just might be a curbstoner:

• They won’t let you run a Carfax report. (This should be obvious.)
• Their name isn’t the one on the title.
• They won’t give you any maintenance records.
• Their phone number appears in an awful lot of classified ads.
• They will not let you take the car to an independent mechanic for an inspection.
• They will only accept cash.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.